Rail-joint.



No. 653,565. Patented my lo, |900. n.0. wA-nn.

RAIL JOINT.

'Application led Jan. 28, 1900.)

(No Modal.)

UNITED STATE-svi PATENT OFFICE.

DANIEL O. WARD, OF OAK PARK, ILLINOIS.

RAIL-JOINT.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters :Patent N0. 653,565, dated July 10, 1900.

Application iiled January 26, 1900. Serial No. 2,879. (No model.)

To all whom/ it may concern/'.- i

Be it known that I, DANIEL O.WARD, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Oak Park, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, (and whose post-oiice address is said Oak Park,) have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rail-Joints, of which the following is a description.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference-letters in dicate like or corresponding parts, Figure l is a perspective View of my improved rail-joint. Fig.V 2 is a transverse section of the same in line 2 2 of Fig. l, and Fig. 3 is a modification of the same. I

This invention belongs to that class of railjoints wherein the proximate ends of the rails are positioned upon a suitable sole-plate or chair, which latter is supported upon an underlying structure or ti'e, the ends of the rail being united by fish-plates overlapping the joints and secured by means of bolts or other devices.

The invention, more particularly speaking, relates to that class of joints wherein the soleplate or chair is formed or provided with a projection extending above the plane of the base of the rail and with which the coupling bolts or devices engage. Usually in this type a lling of wood or other suitable material has been employed, the same occupying a position between the extension of the soleplate or chair and the rail.

The objects of the present invention are to provide a more durable and effective fastening for the several parts to preserve their relative positions, and, further, to so fashion the sole-plate or chair that the same may be adjusted, and when adjusted and secured in position will hug or lie in substantially its proper relation to the base of the rail Airrespective of the supporting-ties or underlying structure, and, further,.to provide a sole-plateA orchair which can be Yconveniently manufactured by the rolling process. l

A further object of the invention is theprovision of a fish-plate with a yielding or spring extension between which and the plate properA a suitablefiller of compressible material may be placed and held and to so position and form the yielding extension that the maximum spring or yielding properties of the 4spring-fiange can be utilized, and, further, to also utilize the yielding or spring properties of the chair or sole-plate in conjunction with the flange of the iish-plate.

In the drawings, A represents the rails,hav ing their ends positioned within the chair or sole-plate B, which in turn is supported conveniently upon the ties C.

D is a fish-plate which may be of any of the ordinary forms or constructions and which is located on one side of the rails.

E designates the opposite fish, splice, or angle-bar plate, and in this connection it is to loe understood that the terms fish, splice, or angle-bar plate are used to designate a structure which is designed largely for the purposes for which the ordinary or usual standard plate of commerce is employed. It is in this connection constructed of substantiallyrigid material, which, however, is susceptible of a slight yieldingmovement under compression when drawn toward the web of the, rail, owing to its concaved inner face. The upper and lower ends of the fish-plate are inclined to rest against the under surface of the head and the upper surface of the inclined base-fiange of the rail, so as to form a wedge and a vertical support when forced into proper position by tightening the bolts. This fish-plate E is ,constructed with a return-bend, which constitutes a yielding flange e', cxtendin g from the lower edge of the plate in a curve outward and thence upward normally at an incline, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, thus forming a U-shaped space between the same and the fish-plate proper. This flange is relatively thin and constitutes what I chooseto term a spring-flange or extension,7 which is susceptible of Inovement toward and from the fish-plate, according to the degree of the compression. It will be noticed that the free end of the flange is ypresented upward for purposesv presently to be stated. Between the flange and fish-plate proper is a filling G, which is conveniently of wood, although other substances may be employed.

' The sole-plate or chair B consists of the flat base-plate b, of a width sufficient to extend laterally across and below the lower surface of the base of the rail and having on one' IOO spikes may be passed. The opposite edge of the plate is bent up and thence at an ineline inward, as at b', the inclination of the under face of the portion b approaching the inclination of the upper face of the flange of the rail, thereby forming a means which will effectively clamp the plate in position and resist the tendency of the Iiat or base portion b from assuming an inclined position relative to the base of the rail when the parts are locked in position previous to spiking down, as presently to be described. The chair or sole-plate is continued beyond the inclined part ZJ in an upward direction slightly obliquely, as shown in dotted lines, Fig. 2, thus forming what I choose to term a yielding or spring-flange extension b2 of the soleplate, the upper edge of which conveniently terminates on the plane of the upper edge of the spring-flange e. It will be noticed that on the curved extension b3 at the end which lies beyond the edge of the base of the rail a projection is formed which constitutes a surface against which the heads of the spikes H rest when the parts are in iinal position. To this end the extension b3 may be notched at intervals to receive the spike, as shown at b4, Fig. 1.

F designates the securing-bolts, having the nuts f.

In operation, the parts being positioned as shown in Fig. 2 in dotted lines, the nuts fare driven home, forcing the yielding flanges to the position shown in full lines. In this position it will be noticed that the maximum amount of iiexure is at the upper ends of the spring-flan ges, and this serves largely to properly lock and secure the parts in their adjusted positions. This feature I regard as being of the utmost importance, inasmuch as the full effect of the spring-flan ges is attained and utilized. When the parts are forced into proper position, it will be noticed that the sole-plate or chair is drawn tightly up against the rail-flange, the part b resting firmly on the upper face of the flange with a gripping or clamping tendency which serves to preserve the parallelism between the part b and the base of the rail. This is essential and convenient when the rails are joined in many sections before placing the ties in their proper positions, as is frequently the case. In this condition it is only necessary to place the ties below the chair and spike the latter and rail thereto, thus avoiding the necessity of first tamping the ties up to the sole-plate and in turn the plate to the rail. In Fig. 3 I have shown a slightly-modified form of construction, wherein the ish-plate is employed with a relatively-thin flange, the same being in an inverted position.

I desire it understood that the fish-plate E and its spring-flange can be employed, if found desirable, without the particular form or any form of sole-plate or chair coperating therewith.

Heretofore in the practice of applying and maintaining railroad-track joints, 4owing to the expansion and contraction of the rails in the joint and to the stretching of the bolts and hammering down of the threads on the bolts and numerous other causes, it has been found impossible to keep the several bearings of the joints tight, the result being where a loose joint is in use the rail ends are bent down by the force of the many heavy blows of passing trains, much damage resulting therefrom. Owing to the peculiar construction of my joint snicient spring or expansive force is introduced through the medium of the powerful spring-flanges to at all times exert locking or tightening force between or inside of the nuts and heads of the bolts, which will thereby be kept practically tight. Should the parts work loose at any time, however, owing to the improper application of the joint, the bolts may be tightened by means of a wrench being applied to the nutsf, the resilient nature of the spring-flanges of the fish-plate E and chair permitting such tightening, while at the same time retaining its spring action. This feature is also retained when a filler G is employed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. A rail-joint angle-bar or plate, consisting of an ordinary rigid su pporting and splice bar or plate having a return-bend for the purposes specified.

2. A iish-plate, comprising a substantiallyrigid plate having a relatively-thin springflange projecting therefrom, and a yielding filling between the iiange and the plate.

3. A {ish-plate, comprising a substantiallyrigid plate havingsupporting upper and lower edges, and an integral relatively-thin springflange extending from the edge of the plate and bent back to form a substantially U'- shaped seat between, substantially as described.

4. A iish=plate consisting of an integral piece of metal substantially U-shaped in cross-section having its free edges presented upward, in combination with a sole-plate or chair having a spring-flange positioned to engage the upper portion of the outer arm of the plate, and means for securing the parts in position.

5. The combination with a rail, of achair, or sole-plate having a base portion extending below the rail and bent up and backward to form a clamp portion above the base of the rail and thence upward to form the spring or yielding'portion, and in combination with a plate or bar interposed between the yielding portion and rail-web, and means for securing the parts4 together.

6. A rail-joint comprising the ends of two railroad-rails, a fish-plate or angle-bar, a chair, and means of securing the chair to the ties or underlying structure, in combination with the spring-arm fish-plate or angle-bar E, positioned between the vertical arm of the IOO IIO

'chair and the rail ends, and means of securing the parts together.

7. A rail-joint comprising a rail, a ish-plate or angle-bar positioned upon one side of the rail, a chair, and means for securing the chair to the ties, in combination with the resilient tish-plate or angle-bar E provided with the filler G, positioned between the vertical arm of the chair and the rail, and means for adjustably securing the parts together.

8. A rail-joint comprising a rail, a iishplate or angle-bar D, a chair comprising a sole-plate or shoe b, having an upright arml provided with a curve at the juncture of the two, adapted to embrace a part of the rail flange or base, and having spike-notches b4 formed therein, and spikes H H, in combination with the U-shaped iish-plate E, positioned between the yvertical arm of the chair and the rail, and bolts for securing the parts together.

9. A rail-joint comprising a rail, a fishplate or angle-bar, a chair comprising a soleplate or shoe b, and an upright arm provided with a curve at its juncture with the base of the rail adapted to embrace a part of the rail iiange or base, and having spike-notches b4 formed therein, and spikes H H, in combination with the U-shaped fish-plate E, positioned between the vertical arm of the chair and the rail, a liller G, between the arms of the iish-plate E and bolts for securing the parts together.

10. A rail-joint, comprising the ends of two railroad-rails when placed in juxtaposition, in combination with a rigid supporting anglebar or sh-plate on one side of the rail ends, a U or V shaped fish-plate or angle-bar E having one of its branches formed substantially rigid to constitute a support, a filler G, between the arms of the fish-plate or anglebar E, on the opposite side of the rail ends, and bolts provided with nut-s for securing the parts together.

11. A rail-joint, comprising the ends of two railroad-rails when placed in juxtaposition, in combination with a rigid supporting anglebar or fish-plate D, on one side of the rail ends, a U or V shaped fish-plate or angle-bar E having one of its branches formed substantially rigid to constitute a support, on the opposite side of the rail ends, and bolts provided with nuts for securing the parts together.

12. In a rail-joint, the combination with the adjacent ends of rails, of a fish-plate, a chair having an integral spring-flange extending above the plane of the rail-base, a substantially U-shaped spring member, located between the web of the rail and the chair extension, and means for securing the parts in position.

13. In a rail-joint, the combination with the adjacent ends of rails, of a chair having one of its edges turned up to form a spring-flange, a fish-plate between the flange and rail, a spring member located between the iiange and fish-plate, and a yielding filling between the spring and fish-plate.

14:. A fish-plate, consisting of a plate having its upper and lower edges inclined to fit the inclined under surface of the head, and the inclined upper surface of the base of the rail creating a wedging contact and a concaved rear or inner face,and an integral spring extension inclined directly back along the opposite face and spaced therefrom,throughout.

15. A rail-joint angle-bar or fish-plate, consisting of an ordinary bar or plate having a return-bend of a thickness less than that of the bar or plate for the purposes specied.

16. A {ish-plate, consisting of a plate having its upper Vand lower edges inclined to t the inclined under surface of the head, and the inclined upper surface of the base of the rail creating a wedging contact, and an integral spring extension inclined directly back along the opposite face and spaced therefrom throughout.

17. An angle splice-bar of the ordinary rigid type formed with a portion of its base upturned for the purposes specified.

1S. In a rail-joint, the combination with adjacent ends of rails, of a sole-plate having a flange extending above the base of the rail, a fish or angle-bar plate having yielding return extension located between the same and the iiange and securing-bolts, substantially as described.

19. In a rail-joint, the combination with adjacent ends of rails, of a sole-plate having a flange member extending up beyond the base of the rails, a sh or angle-bar plate member, a return-bend integral spring extension on one of the members, located between the same and the other member and bolts, substantially as described.

DANIEL O. WARD.

Witnesses:

MAMIE G. ENNIs, CHARLES F. PROUD.

IOO 

